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• The following version of this book was used to create this Lesson Plan: Henry, O. "After Twenty Years," The Best of O. Henry. Peerage Books, 1989. Hardcover.

• The story opens with a policeman walking his beat at 10:00 p.m. It is a chilly night that promises rain, and so aside from the policeman, the streets are nearly empty.

• The officer theatrically twirls his baton as he moves from building to building checking that the doors are shut and locked.

• Most businesses in the area close early, so the policeman slows to investigate when he sees a man leaning in the doorway of a hardware store.

• The man tells the officer that he is waiting for a friend, Jimmy Wells.

• Twenty years ago, he said, they agreed to meet on this day at this spot, which was once a restaurant called "Big Joe' Brady's" (620).

• The man...

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